One of the greatest of all outsider artists: Alfred Wallis at Kettle’s Yard reviewed

Alfred Wallis (1855-1942) should be an inspiration to all late starters. It was not until he had passed the age of 70 that, after his wife of many years had died and having previously worked as a sailor, fisherman and rag and bone merchant, he decided to take up art. ‘Aw! I dono how to pass away time,’ he explained to a shopkeeper in his native town of St Ives. ‘I think I’ll do a bit a paintin’ — think I’ll draw a bit.’

Three years later, his work was spotted by the leading British modernists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood. By and by, Wallis’s pictures were being exhibited in London, and Nicholson presented one to the Museum of Modern Art, New York.How much this acclaim meant to the artist, beyond bringing in some useful cash, is not clear. Once, shown a reproduction of one of his own works in a book, he was unimpressed, remarking: ‘I’ve got one like that at home.